Bot. Mag. 85: t.5120(1859).
Verified by:
Shrub or small tree, 2-7.5m; young shoots clothed with long stiff setae. Leaves elliptic to obovate-lanceolate, 8-13 x 2.7-4cm, 2-3.2 x as long as broad, apex acute to rounded, base rounded, upper surface glabrous, lower surface with a thin continuous layer of pale brown dendroid hairs, often becoming whitish with age, usually also with a few setae on the midrib towards the base; petioles l-2cm, densely covered with long gland-tipped bristles. Inflorescence dense, 15-20-flowered; rhachis short, c.5mm; pedicels 10-15mm, glandular-setose. Calyx fleshy, reddish, 5-10mm, lobes rounded, glanduiar-ciliate. Corolla fleshy, tubular-campanulate, scarlet to crimson, with darker nectar pouches, 30-45mm. Ovary with a dense rufous tomentum intermixed with long glandular hairs; style glabrous. Capsule c.15 x 4mm, straight.
NE India (Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh), Bhutan, China (S Xizang)
Mixed forests, etc.
R. argipeplum Balfour f. & Cooper, Notes R.B.G. Edinb. 9: 213 (1916). Type: Bhutan, Pumthang, 11000ft, 5 vii 1915, Cooper 4115 (holo. E).
Chamberlain, D.F. (1982) A Revision of Rhododendron II. Subgenus Hymenanthes. Notes From the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh 39(2):381